


Love Makes Me Stupid

by tacewrites



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, by just avoiding the issue altogether, he's a mess, hikaru tries to solve a problem he created, i have died every day waiting for hikaharu, mentions tamaki in there too, set after the halloween episode (ep. 21)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-24
Updated: 2017-04-24
Packaged: 2018-10-23 15:31:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10722144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacewrites/pseuds/tacewrites
Summary: Hikaru doesn't really know how to handle his growing feelings for Haruhi. When they cause him to do something stupid, he doesn't know how to handle that either.





	Love Makes Me Stupid

**Author's Note:**

> Watching Ouran never fails to give me the feels. I fell in love with the idea of Haruhi and Hikaru the first time I watched it 3 years ago, and even though I now love and appreciate the relationships between Haruhi and all of the host club members, I just can't help but love those two the most.  
> This would be the second fanfiction I've ever written, but I wrote it at the same time as this one (https://archiveofourown.org/works/10721775), so this is super new to me! But I really liked writing this one, and I hope you like reading it!

Hikaru had done something stupid.

Well, more stupid than usual. It wasn’t like he was a stranger to acting unthinkingly and getting himself in trouble in the process, although lately it did seem to be happening more frequently. He could own up to his own childish impulsiveness and take the blame for it completely, but he would much rather place at least part of it at someone else’s feet. After all, she was the one who waltzed into his world and started causing trouble, not the other way around.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and stole a sideways glance at the girl in question. Haruhi was busy taking careful notes at her desk next to him as their teacher continued to lecture at them for what seemed like forever. She was completely focused, her hand that was flying across the page only ceasing when she felt the need to quickly brush her bangs out of her face. He was glad someone was paying attention, because he definitely wasn’t. Maybe later he would ask to copy her notes…

…or he would just ask Kaoru. His brother’s notes wouldn’t be as thorough as Haruhi’s, but Hikaru was quite actively avoiding her so that he wouldn’t have to deal with the incredibly stupid thing he did. He didn’t want to have to own up to it, or give an explanation as to why he did it in the first place. That would be giving away too much, and he didn’t really know how to be that honest with anyone except Kaoru.

In this case, he hadn’t even told his brother what happened. Hikaru knew how Kaoru would respond to any given situation, but in this case, he didn’t. Or maybe he did, and it was just that he wasn’t ready to see that knowing look from his brother and hear his take on what Hikaru should be doing now. It definitely would not involve avoiding Haruhi. _Be honest, Hikaru_ , he would say. _You have to tell other people how you feel or they’ll never know_. But openness and honesty weren’t exactly qualities that Hikaru possessed in spades, and he was pretty sure that he did not want to put what little he had into practice in order to face the incident that had occurred during the Halloween Test of Courage Tournament a week ago.

It was a lapse in judgement, really. Kaoru acted as the reluctant impulse control of the duo on rare occasions that he realized things were getting way out of hand, but Kaoru wasn’t there when Hikaru found Haruhi and himself caught in the hanging net that Nekozawa had set up as a trap. There had been very little wiggle room in that net, and Hikaru was a little taken aback by how close he found himself to Haruhi in that moment. She, of course, unfazed by most things, immediately pulled out her sewing kit to set them free.

That was when things took a turn. With a simple apology that this was the best way for her to do what she needed to do, she reached above Hikaru’s head, leaned forward, and began to cut away at the net, leaving Hikaru to blush and stare at her chest.

_She smells like instant coffee_ was his first thought.

His second thought was _I really like instant coffee_.

The next thought was just how damn close she was. _Incredibly close, too close…._

_Not close enough_. And that was the last coherent thought he had before he stopped thinking entirely and did something stupid. Really stupid. He leaned back far enough into the net to see her tie in front of him and reached up to grab it. He tugged gently on it until Haruhi was eye level with him.

“Hm?” she questioned him, confusion evident in her eyes. Hikaru didn’t answer, but instead smiled, pulled her tie forward, and kissed her.

It was a quick kiss, only slightly longer than a peck, and was over before Haruhi had time to react. He felt a little fuzzy, but sobered immediately when his thoughts caught up with his actions and he saw the “what the hell” look on Haruhi’s face.

Oh god. What the hell did he do that for and how would he get out of this? Saying sorry wouldn’t cut it, she would ask him for an explanation. And giving her one would mean giving away too much. Instead, he threw on his most devilish smile that he usually reserved for schemes with Kaoru and tried his best to sound the same.

“Oh I’m sorry, Haruhi. Was that not an appropriate way to thank you for being such a good rescuer in our time of need?”

The trick apparently worked. Haruhi rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t necessary,” she replied in an exasperated tone. “Would you let me finish so we can get the hell out of here?”

Hikaru put on a mockingly flustered mask, which wasn’t too hard given that he already felt flustered as hell. “Be my guest, Haruhi. I’ll be down here if you need me.” He winked for good measure.

Haruhi, still exasperated, sighed once more and then went back to work, Hikaru burning with shame beneath her. He was truly an idiot. When they were finally free, he rushed off to reunite with Kaoru and to escape any further conversation of the incident with Haruhi.

He’d been avoiding her since then when he could help it. He dashed out of class when the bell rang, pretended he was too busy to talk in between classes, and stayed on opposite ends of the music room during host club hours. It was kind of exhausting, and frankly, though he would never admit it, he missed her. She was a never ending source of entertainment, especially because she was so easy to tease and she put up with his antics. But it wasn’t just that she was he and Kaoru’s favorite toy; she was just their favorite. He wasn’t sure exactly when they stopped thinking of her as only a toy to be bothered, but it was probably around the time when they realized she knew who they were, both as a unit and as individual people. It meant way more to them than she could ever possibly know, but also caused conflicting feelings of frustration in Hikaru who, immature as he was, didn’t really know how to deal with them. He mostly just reacted in stupid ways without thinking. Like kissing Haruhi levels of stupid.

But it was only the situation that made it stupid. He didn’t actually regret doing it; in fact, he rather wished he could do it again. It had been a week, but he still felt fuzzy when he thought about the moment in which his lips met hers. He liked to imagine how the kiss could have been if the situation had been slightly different. Maybe it would have lasted longer. Maybe she would have kissed him back. Maybe he would have run his fingers through her short brown hair. Maybe she would whisper his name….

“Hikaru.”

Startled from his fantasy, his head whipped to his left and he found himself staring into the eyes of Haruhi. He felt his face heat up. He knew she was observant but she couldn’t actually read his mind, could she? He wanted to combust in his seat. Before he could, Haruhi tossed a piece of paper on his desk, mouthed _From Koaru_ , and went back to taking her notes. Hikaru looked past her head to the desk directly beside hers. Kaoru nodded his head toward the paper. _Open it._

Hikaru did as his brother wanted. Inside was a message scrawled sloppily in blue ink: _Quit staring off into space so much. Haruhi won’t let you borrow her notes if you aren’t even trying. What’s wrong with you?_ He knew his brother’s question meant more in general rather than just the present moment. He had been acting weird. But he wasn’t about to confess to anything, that would only lead to trouble. Instead, he shrugged nonchalantly, opened up his notebook, and pretended to take notes on whatever the teacher was droning on about. After another agonizing half hour, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Hikaru threw his notebook in his bag immediately and stood up before either Kaoru or Haruhi had time to react.

“I gotta go talk to someone. See you in a bit,” he explained hurriedly, aiming the last part at Kaoru, as he wouldn’t be seeing Haruhi since the host club was not meeting that day. Kaoru nodded his head with a slightly confused expression, but didn’t press him further. Haruhi looked up at him, questions in her eyes, but he tore his gaze away from hers quickly and left without another word to either of them. He didn’t actually have anyone he needed to talk to, so he hid around the corner, waiting to see what the two he had left behind would do. When Haruhi and Kaoru left the room, they stood talking for a moment, then Kaoru went right, probably to find him, and Haruhi went left, probably looking for a library to study in. Hikaru figured he should probably go after his brother, but he then remembered that he had left a prop in the host club room that he needed to retrieve. He made his way there hastily, hoping not to make his brother wait on him too long.

The prop he was after was sitting on the couch where he had left it yesterday afternoon, forgetting it in his rush to leave before Haruhi could get to him. He placed the object in his bag and then looked around. The music room was big, perfect for host club events, but depressing when you were in there by yourself. It made him feel lonely. It also made him miss _her_ more. He shook off the feeling and started to make his way toward the exit when the door in front of him opened. He thought it might be Kaoru come to find him or Tamaki coming to set up for some crazy host club theme.

It was neither of them. Haruhi came through the door with a “Hey, Hikaru,” and started walking towards him. Damn it, he didn’t want to do this, but he couldn’t exactly walk out without being really rude, and he didn’t want to do that, either. Instead, he resorted to trickery.

He put on his practiced smile that belonged to his brother. “I’m not Hikaru, I’m Kaoru,” he lied, hoping that it would work, knowing that it wouldn’t.

It didn’t. She didn’t even hesitate. “You are most definitely not Kaoru, Hikaru, it’s completely obvious.”

Hikaru’s heart sped up, caught in his silly lie. He knew that it wasn’t the only reason, though. His heart always raced when she said his name. She said it in a way that sounded completely different than when she said Kaoru’s name. It wasn’t a guess. It wasn’t the beginning of two names thrown together. Each time he heard her say it, what he really heard was _I know who you are_. He loved that about her.

It was good to hear his name out of her mouth. He hadn’t heard it in a week, and a week was too damn long. For a moment, he forgot why he was avoiding her in the first place.

“Can’t fool you,” he said, laughing.

She giggled in return. “Not sure why you would even bother trying.” She paused, then with a slightly concerned smile on her face, she added, “I came to find you to see if something is bothering you.”

His heart stopped beating altogether for a moment in panic, but he tried not to show it. Instead, he tried to act as casual as possible. “Why would something be bothering me?”

She ignored his question. “Was it because of what happened on Halloween when we were caught in the net? When you kissed me?” she asked bluntly, without any embarrassment in her voice.

He felt his face heat up again at how direct she was. She never beat around the bush about anything, was never anything less than straightforward with everyone. He loved that about her, too. He also decided that maybe he should be direct with her, as well. At least, as direct as he possibly could be without giving away everything.

“Yes,” he admitted, looking down at the floor. “I was just embarrassed and thought you might be mad at me.”

The concern left her face, and she smiled a little wider. “I mean, it was a little shocking,” she admitted. “But of course I’m not mad at you. If it had been my first kiss, I might have been a little upset, but you and I know it wasn’t.” She rolled her eyes good naturedly.

He recalled the first host club party she had ever been a part of, and the accidental kiss she had given one of the guests when Tamaki accidentally pushed her. “No, it definitely wasn’t,” he agreed, laughing again.

Haruhi wasn’t finished with her line of questioning. “Want to tell me why you did it? Kissed me?”

This was where the honesty ended. He couldn’t possibly tell her something that he really hadn’t figured out himself. He knew that her friendship meant everything to him, and that he had some type of feelings for her. But he was terrified of the consequences of those feelings. If she rejected him he wouldn’t know what to do about it. If she had some type of feelings for him too, he definitely wouldn’t know what to do about it. For as long as he could remember, it had always been just him and Kaoru. Somehow, the host club had broadened their horizons a little, but Haruhi had shattered their entire world view simply by being observant. The two of them were still getting used to it. If he made room in his life for that type of relationship, he wasn’t sure how it would impact the relationship he had with Kaoru, and that was still the most important thing in his life.

With that in mind, a lie would have to do, although he could make it as truthful as possible. “I was curious,” he told her, teasing in his voice.

Haruhi made a face at him. “And is your curiosity satisfied?” she asked,

_Hell no_. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Well good. Warn a girl next time you start feeling curious again, alright?” She rolled her eyes, but flashed him a smile, which told him he was in the clear.

He promised her he would, secretly hoping that someday, he would actually have the chance to do it. The two of them turned their heads as the club room door opened again, and Kaoru came walking in.

“Hikaru, there you are, I have been looking for you for 15 minutes,” he scolded his brother, clapping him in the back of the head.

Hikaru wrapped his arm around his brother. “Sorry, Haruhi came in here and distracted me from getting the prop I left here yesterday.”

Kaoru threw his other arm that was not attached to his brother around the girl, pulling her in between them. “You took forever. What was so important that you left me hanging around for?”

Hikaru was not sure how to respond to that. This was one conversation he didn’t want to involve his brother in.

“He thought I was mad at him for something he said at the Halloween Test of Courage Tournament last week,” Hikaru heard Haruhi say in a muffled voice beside him. “He’s been avoiding me all week because of it, so I cornered him up here and made him talk it out with me.”

Hikaru appreciated that she knew he wouldn’t want this spread around, but he figured she probably didn’t either. It wasn’t a big deal to her anyway. He was glad that she, a brutally honest person, could tell a small lie in order to protect his own feelings. She was so loyal that way. Knowing, straightforward, loyal. He loved those things about her. So much. He loved them so very much. He loved….

…her. So damn much.

“So,” he started, feeling a little emotional. He cleared his throat, hoping the other two wouldn’t notice. “We really should get going now. Haruhi, walk out with us.”

“I don’t think I have much of a choice,” she said, squished between them. “Just try not to smother me this time.”

The twins shared a look, and without agreeing to do it out loud, hugged each other tightly, crushing the girl between them in the process.

“Awww, Haruhi,” they both crooned, nuzzling their cheeks against her hair. Hikaru relished the feeling.

Haruhi evidently did not. “Get off of me, already!” she gasped. “You’re both such a pain in my ass!”

Kaoru chuckled. “Oh my, language. How crude, right, Hikaru?”

 “So very crude, dear Haruhi, wherever do you hear such words?” Hikaru asked, sounding overly scandalized

“You know damn well,” she told him, still just as muffled as before.

The twins both laughed, but released their grip on her, save for one arm each around her shoulders. Hikaru figured she was probably right. Surely if she had such an impact on their lives, they must have given her something in return. How lucky she was.

As they exited the music room, Hikaru glanced around, realizing that the only people left on this floor with him were the two people he cared most about in the world. A smile spread across his face. Whether or not anything would ever change with Haruhi, he couldn’t say, but he decided it didn’t matter. For now, he had the overwhelming feeling that he was the lucky one.  

And that didn’t seem stupid at all.


End file.
